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The year 2008 marked the 150th anniversary of a Jewish presence in Saint John.
Beginning with the arrival of Solomon and Alice Hart and their children in 1858, the city has seen the arrival of hundreds of Jews from all parts of Europe. Many merely passed through on their way to other centres, some stayed only a few years, some stayed for a lifetime and others for generations. Although never large by the standards of many Jewish communities, those men and women who chose to live here made an impact in the city – as individuals, as merchants and as leaders within and outside the Jewish community. From the Jewish ghetto along Main Street in the North End, through Dock Street and up King and Union Streets, Jewish stores abounded with clothing, shoes, groceries, furniture and other goods. Many plied their skills as tailors and small manufacturers. Service organizations welcomed them to their membership and Jewish organizations made headlines in their own right. Jewish meetings and community events were covered in the newspapers and satisfied the curiosity of many who were keen observers of all city activities. The synagogues were established and children attended schools throughout the city and attended Hebrew School. During the “Golden Years” from the 1920s to the 1960s, the Jewish population of Saint John exceeded 1,500 and Jewish activities were many and well-attended. There was something for everyone.
The landscape of the city has changed much over the past 150 years – the two earliest synagogues have been demolished, the Main Street ghetto of the Jewish community and parts of the “Valley” which the more affluent Eastern European families moved to and lived in from the 1920s to the 1960s were lost to urban redevelopment and a new highway bisecting the city. The children of the 1950s and 1960s took wholesale advantage of the opportunity for a university education which had been largely denied to their parents and immigrant grandparents. Parents sent their children to Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and the United States, and in many cases followed them once they settled in their new careers.
The Jewish community in 2008 consisted of less than thirty families, most descended from those who arrived in the early years of the 20th century. Two households can trace their roots back to Solomon Hart. Community members range in age from 2 to 95, but most members are in their seventies and beyond. As the city sits on the cusp of new development, there is so
